After four LPs, Lana Del Rey has cultivated her own brand of languid and sensuous sound.
Del Rey has been setting Tumblr screens ablaze ever since late 2011 with her dreamy and romantic ballad “Video Games.” Known for her full lips, flower crowns and awkward SNL performance, her debut Born to Die was divisive amongst critics, though being a hot-seller.
On her latest album Honeymoon, Del Rey begins to explore new sounds and themes to varying results. She even embraces trap beats on songs, such as the hypnotic standout “High By the Beach” and the burgeoning fan favorite “Freak.”
Still, the production is masterful in that she only flirts with the sounds in the background and never allows them to outshine her signature vocals. She uses subtle beats associated with trap music, but it’s doubtful her next album will have a duet with Fetty Wap.
Honeymoon takes a fair bit of listening to adjust to the slower pace of the songs. The title track, which opens the album, clocks in at nearly six minutes, requiring some patience. While it sounds pretty, it is a bit of a letdown.
In contrast, lead single “High By the Beach” is one of Del Rey’s most accessible tracks to date, with a concrete beat. Listeners can always count on Del Rey for a trippy and woozy ballad to space out to on bedroom floors, but this could be played on the radio without having the world collectively fall asleep.
But Del Rey does not abandon her flair for the melodrama, and this album has many heavy string sections and emotional fadeouts, like on the dramatic, almost-operatic “Salvatore.”
Del Rey’s vocals are also a highlight. Ever the queen of the lilting feminine voice, Del Rey starts to croon a bit more soulfully this time on cuts such as “The Blackest Day” and “God Knows I Tried.” Many have often criticized her legitimacy and overdramatic lyrics, but Del Rey has truly never sounded more genuine or honest as she does on this album.
Unfortunately, the sounds and themes on Honeymoon begin to run together after the 10th track. Like her previous album Ultraviolence, Del Rey’s latest also suffers from slow pace.
But in a cherry-picking music society where singles reign, music-lovers will never have a problem finding a few songs to add to relaxation (or bedtime) playlists. With the sea of frenetic and whiny pop songs on the radio, sometimes a relaxing torch song does just the trick.
While not for everybody, Lana Del Rey’s Honeymoon is every bit a passionate and sensuous journey — just like a real one.
4/5
Michael’s Picks: “High By the Beach,” “Art Deco,” “Religion” and “Salvatore”
